Sunday, the 2nd of October 1966. The Dodgers were playing a double header in Philadelphia. When the day started, LA was 1.5 games ahead of the Giants. If the Dodgers lost both games and the Giants beat the Pirates, they would finish in a dead heat and there would be a playoff.
Don Drysdale got the start in game one against Larry Jackson. In the bottom of the 1st, John Briggs led off for the Phillies and homered to CF. The Phillies would score another run in the first to go up 2-0. Drysdale was pulled after the 2nd inning after giving up 4 hits, 2 runs, and 2 walks. He did not register a strikeout.
Perranoski took over in the 3rd and pitched 2 scoreless innings allowing just 1 walk and striking out 4. Meanwhile, the Dodgers were being shut out by Jackson through the 5th inning. In the 5th, LA mounted a rally, scoring 3 runs on a homer by Ron Fairly to take a 3-2 lead. Chris Short came in to get the last out for the Phillies.
Bob Miller has come in to pitch in the 5th inning and held the Phillies scoreless until the bottom of the 8th. Miller allowed 3 baserunners in the 8th. He was relieved by Phil Regan. Regan gave up a sac-fly to Bill White, and a go-ahead single to Clay Dalrymple. Short shut LA down in the 9th for the 4-3 win.
The Phillies starter in game two was Jim Bunning. Bunning had 19 wins. The Dodger line up was Wills SS, Schofield 3B, W. Davis CF, Fairly RF, Lefebvre 2B, Johnson LF, Roseboro C, Parker 1B, Koufax P. Most fans at the time did not know the extent of the problems Koufax was having with his arm. The Phillie’s starting lineup was Jackie Brandt CF, Cookie Rojas RF, Groat SS, Dick Allen 3B, Kuenn LF, Tony Taylor 2B, Bill White 1B, Bob Uecker C, and Bunning.
He had to soak his arm in ice after every game in 65, now he was doing it prior to the games. He had been advised by Dr. Robert Kerlan, the team physician to retire after the 65 season. He was told if he kept pitching, he would possibly lose the use of his left arm.
He and Drysdale had their famous holdout prior to the 1966 season. Koufax had a Koufax type season after they signed, but Drysdale struggled. To complicate matters on this last day of the season, Sandy was experiencing some back issues. Yet he took the ball when the Dodgers needed him the most.
He was pitching once again on just two days rest. Bunning struck out Wills and Schofield to start the game. Davis grounded out and the Phillies came up to hit against Koufax. Brandt led off with an infield single to Wills.
Rojas sacrificed him to second on a bunt fielded by Koufax who threw to Lefebvre covering 1st for the out. Groat hit an infield single to third. Runners of 1st and 3rd with one out. Koufax struck out Dick Allen and Kuenn grounded out to 3rd.
Fairly singled to right leading off the second, but Lefebvre flied out, Johnson popped out to 2nd and Roseboro popped out to 3rd. Taylor and White struck out to start the 2nd, and Uecker then grounded out Wills to Parker.
The Dodgers got on the board in the 3rd. Parker walked and stole second with Koufax batting. Sandy struck out. Wills flied out to Kuenn. Schofield singled driving in Parker, and then Willie D homered to right making it 3-0. Fairly flied out to end the inning.
Koufax retired the side in order in the bottom of the 3rd. The Dodgers made some noise in the top of the 4th. Lefebvre doubled. Johnson laid down a bunt that went for a single with Lefebvre moving to third. Roseboro hit a fly ball to Brandt for a sac-fly scoring Lefebvre, 4-0 LA. Johnson stole second and moved to 3rd on Uecker’s throwing error. Parker was intentionally walked. Koufax struck out, and Wills grounded to Groat to end the inning.
Bottom of the 4th started with an error by Wills allowing Groat to reach base. Allen, who had 40 homers and 100 driven in, struck out. Kuenn then flied out to right. Taylor got an infield single and Koufax then struck out White to end the inning.
Bunning shut down LA in the 5th, retiring all three hitters in a row. Koufax struck out Uecker to start the bottom of the fifth inning. But he started feeling discomfort in his back. It got worse after he pitched to Gary Sutherland, pinch hitting for Bunning. Sutherland flied out to Johnson for the second out, and Brandt grounded out to Lefebvre to end the inning.
For the rest of the game though, the Dodger training staff and Don Newcombe would work between innings on Sandy’s back. In between the 5th and 6th innings, they had to pop his back into place. The Phillies brought in Rick Wise, a 21-year-old rookie to pitch.
Lefebvre flew out to start the sixth, Johnson had an infield single. Roseboro flied out to Brandt. Johnson stole second, and Wise walked Parker intentionally. Koufax grounded to Groat who stepped on second for a force out.
Koufax was still feeling the effects of the knot in his back but had an easy sixth inning. Rojas popped out and Groat and Allen both struck out. Wise had an easy seventh, striking out Wills and getting Schofield and Davis to ground out.
Sandy got Kuenn to fly out starting the seventh. Taylor grounded out and then White doubled. Uecker grounded out to third to end the inning. In the bottom of the eighth, Fairly doubled to lead off. Lefebvre bunted with Allen making an error on the play putting runners at 1st and 3rd. Johnson hit a line drive that Groat snagged and then doubled Lefebvre off of first.
Roseboro hit a grounder that Taylor made an error on and Fairly scored making it 5-0 LA. Parker struck out to end the inning. Johnny Briggs pinch hit for Wise and drew a walk from Koufax. Brandt flied out to Willie Davis. Rojas popped out to 3rd and then Groat grounded to Wills who stepped on second forcing Briggs.
Darold Knowles replaced Wise on the mound in the top of the ninth. Sandy struck out and Wills walked. Schofield singled. Davis grounded out and both runners advanced 90 feet. Fairly singled to right, Davis scored but Schofield was thrown out at the plate on a strong throw by Rojas. Going into the bottom of the ninth, LA led 6-0.
Alston made the decision to let Koufax go back out for the ninth inning. It almost backfired. Allen reached on an error by Lefebvre. Kuenn singled to left. Taylor singled to center, driving in Allen. White then doubled, scoring Kuenn and Taylor. Koufax, summoning his best stuff, struck out Uecker, then induced pinch-hitter Bobby Wine to ground out. He then struck out Brandt for his 10th K of the game and secured his 27th win. It was also for the second year in a row, his 27th complete game of the season.
After the game, Sandy said, “Thank God it’s over.” Reporters felt it was a culmination of winning the pennant on the last day of the season as compared to the AL Champion Orioles, who won by 9 games. Others, like ESPN’s Steve Wulf, felt that this might have been Koufax’s most consequential win.
He was pitching on two days’ rest, and he navigated a tense ninth inning with a bad back, knowing that if they lost, they would be in a playoff with the Giants. He got the last three hitters with a flourish and won what would be his final regular-season major league game.
Sandy’s line in 1966 looked like this: 27-9, 1.73 ERA, 317 Ks. Pitching’s triple crown. He would win his 3rd Cy Young award. LA would be swept by a great Orioles team in the World Series; Koufax lost his only start. In November, not wanting to go through all the pain of trying to pitch again, Koufax retired. They would not return to the Series until 1974
Sandy is truly the GOAT.
We can only wonder how his career would have progressed with modern surgical proceedures….
In more current news…
https://dodgersdigest.com/2026/03/11/santiago-espinal-set-to-make-dodgers-opening-day-roster-howd-he-do-it/
Actually, their OKC is up a d good. They have Ehrhard & Tibbs batting #1/#2 in LF/RF.
Team could be loaded.
Love those two guys! When they came over to the Dodgers, a lot of guys on this site didn’t give much love to Erdhard including our leader. A short season and a strong spring has changed all that. Look forward to both being in the Show around September.
Thanks for the old stuff Bear. Biased I may be, but Sandy at his peak was indeed the best ever. The knock on him is that it was for only 6 years and the years preceding paled by comparison, but this fails to understand the bonus baby rules of the day in which if you signed a player for more than a certain amount, you had to have them on the major league team. Thus the years another pitcher would spend in the minors, Sandy spent learning in the big leagues. It also fails to recognize that it was indeed a 6 year stretch, not 6 months. Over 6 years, big league hitters adjust, but they could not adjust to Sandy even though he really only had 2 pitches. Fortunately, one was a curve ball like none before or since (apologies to Clayton), and the other was a fastball that defied gravity to rise at just the right time. To take the Dodger bias out, look at the stats. Only Walter Johnson can compete statistically, and look at his stats prior to the dead ball era and after. Clearly, the dead ball was a literal game changer. Sorry for the “homer” take folks!
Anytime John, love baseball history and the Dodgers have had some pretty historic moments.
Ai:
Compare Bob Gibson with Sandy Koufax
Two pitching legends. Two very different legends.
One burned like a meteor for a few seasons; the other ruled the mound with the temperament of a medieval warlord for nearly two decades.
Let’s put Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax side-by-side.
Career Snapshot
Category Sandy Koufax Bob Gibson
Team Los Angeles Dodgers St. Louis Cardinals
Career 1955–1966 1959–1975
Wins–Losses 165–87 251–174
ERA 2.76 2.91
Strikeouts 2,396 3,117
Innings 2,324 3,884
Cy Young Awards 3 2
MVP Awards 1 1
World Series titles 4 2
Hall of Fame 1972 1981
Peak Dominance
Sandy Koufax (1962–1966)
Koufax’s peak was volcanic. Five seasons where hitters looked like they were trying to swat fog with a broom.
Year W-L ERA ERA+ K
1962 14–7 2.54 143 216
1963 25–5 1.88 159 306
1964 19–5 1.74 171 223
1965 26–8 2.04 160 382
1966 27–9 1.73 190 317
Highlights
3 Cy Young Awards (when only one was given in MLB)
4 no-hitters
1 perfect game (1965)
Led the league in strikeouts 4 straight years
But arthritis in his elbow forced retirement at age 30.
Bob Gibson (1965–1970 peak)
Gibson’s dominance was less flashy but more sustained. He pitched like he was personally offended by the existence of hitters.
Year W-L ERA ERA+ K
1965 20–12 3.07 122 270
1966 21–12 2.44 144 225
1967 13–7 2.98 127 191
1968 22–9 1.12 258 268
1969 20–13 2.18 193 269
1970 23–7 3.12 132 274
Highlights
1968 ERA: 1.12, one of the greatest pitching seasons ever
13 shutouts in 1968
Led MLB to lower the mound after the season
1968 was so absurd that MLB literally changed the rules.
World Series Performance
Pitcher World Series Record ERA Strikeouts
Koufax 4–3 0.95 61
Gibson 7–2 1.89 92
Famous moments:
Koufax refusing to pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur.
Gibson striking out 17 Tigers in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series, still a Series record.
Pitching Style
Koufax
Electric fastball
Devastating overhand curve
Smooth, almost elegant delivery
More overpowering in short bursts
Gibson
Explosive fastball with heavy movement
Hard slider
Intimidating mound presence
Worked inside relentlessly
Opposing hitters often said Gibson pitched like he wanted to break your spirit before he broke your bat.
Advanced Comparison (ERA+)
ERA+ adjusts for ballpark and era.
Pitcher ERA+
Koufax 131
Gibson 127
Very similar overall, though Koufax’s peak years were higher.
Longevity vs Peak
Category Winner
Peak dominance Koufax
Career length Gibson
Total WAR Gibson
Best single season Gibson (1968)
Most dominant stretch Koufax (1963–66)
The Quick Verdict
If you want the greatest peak:
Sandy Koufax
If you want the better career:
Bob Gibson
If you want the pitcher hitters feared the most:
Many players said Gibson.
⚾ Fun historical twist:
The Dodgers actually drafted both pitchers originally. Koufax stayed in LA. Gibson ended up becoming the Cardinals’ franchise icon.
If you want, I can also show you something fascinating:
Why hitters in the 1960s often said Koufax was the hardest pitcher ever to face… even compared with Gibson, Nolan Ryan, and modern pitchers. It involves a weird combination of mound height, release point, and curveball physics. ⚾
Pick one season. Who had the greatest season of all time: Gibson, Koufax, Kershaw ore walter Johnson?
If we lock the vault and choose one single season from each of those titans, the four usual candidates look like this:
Pitcher Season W–L ERA ERA+ IP WAR (approx)
Bob Gibson 1968 22–9 1.12 258 304.2 ~11
Sandy Koufax 1965 26–8 2.04 160 335.2 ~10
Clayton Kershaw 2014 21–3 1.77 197 198.1 ~7.7
Walter Johnson 1913 36–7 1.14 259 346 ~15
Now let’s unpack what makes each season ridiculous.
Bob Gibson — 1968 (The season that broke baseball)
4
1.12 ERA in the heart of the “Year of the Pitcher”
13 shutouts
304 innings
ERA+ 258
Hitters batted .184 against him.
His dominance was so extreme MLB responded by:
lowering the mound from 15 inches to 10
shrinking the strike zone
Few players in history literally caused rule changes.
Sandy Koufax — 1965 (The masterpiece)
4
382 strikeouts (record at the time)
26 wins
335.2 innings
8 shutouts
Perfect game
And he did it while pitching through severe arthritis in his elbow.
This was the most overpowering strikeout season of the 1960s.
Clayton Kershaw — 2014 (The modern dominance)
4
21–3 record
1.77 ERA
0.857 WHIP
ERA+ 197
NL MVP + Cy Young
He also threw a no-hitter.
But modern workloads cap innings, so he pitched about 100 fewer innings than the older legends.
Walter Johnson — 1913 (The nuclear season)
4
36–7
1.14 ERA
346 innings
11 shutouts
ERA+ 259
15 WAR (one of the highest ever)
He basically pitched half the season himself.
And hitters of the era consistently said his fastball was the fastest they had ever seen.
The Verdict
If the question is the single greatest season ever:
Walter Johnson — 1913
Why?
ERA+ almost identical to Gibson
40+ more innings
36 wins
Highest WAR season by a pitcher in modern MLB history
It’s the statistical Everest of pitching seasons.
The Ranking
1️⃣ Walter Johnson — 1913
2️⃣ Bob Gibson — 1968
3️⃣ Sandy Koufax — 1965
4️⃣ Clayton Kershaw — 2014
⚾ But here’s a fun twist for a Dodgers fan:
Many historians argue the most dominant stretch ever is not one season but Koufax from 1963–1966, where he averaged:
25 wins
1.86 ERA
323 innings
317 strikeouts
That four-year run feels like a baseball god briefly borrowing a uniform.
There was no draft when Gibson and Koufax were signed. Two of Koufax’s seasons were impacted by injuries. 1962 and 1964. The problem with the circulation in his finger in 62 cost LA the pennant and almost cost Sandy his finger. In 1964, he jammed his elbow sliding back to second base. He pitched in two more games in August without a win. He then was placed on the DL since LA was going nowhere in 64. It cost him a 20 game win season as he had 19 at the time.
Mark, Loved it!! Much appreciated. Unfortunately, when you write such an amazing piece and some clown like me agrees with you on 99.9% of it, it is inevitable that said clown will mention the one and only item on which he disagrees….so here it is: Walter Johnson 1913 season was achieved in what might be considered by some as almost a different game, the “dead ball era”. Granted, the game is constantly changing, but this change was monumental. Consider Johnson’s own stats as evidence. Before and after resemble night and day.
I agree!
Actually, Michael Norris wrote it!
Gee thanks for giving credit to Mark for my post. Just kidding,
Unfortunately I was not old enough to watch Koufax as I was born in 58. I remember little about Gibson. We really got very little baseball on tv back then. But I have watched baseball all my life. Randy Johnson. Steve Carlton. Tom Seaver. Nolan Ryan. Graig Maddox. Tom Glavine. Pedro. Gooden. Jack Morris. Glavine. Smoltz. Roy Halladay. And so many others who have been so much fun to watch. Clayton is my favorite. I’m not going to try and convince anyone he’s the best ever. He is though my favorite of all time. His character. His record speaks for itself. His love of the game. And most of all, his love for his family. His postseason record may not blow you away. But he never once refused to take the ball. Probably took it a few times in the playoffs when he shouldn’t have. He’s a hall of famer. He’s everything a parent could ever dream of. He’s class. So yeah, I’ll take Clayton Kershaw on my team every time!
Freddie ,Max,Teo? Al three are looking healthy and energized! Look for 85 plus homers from the 3. Pages looks like he’s very comfortable.Espinal looks like he won’t be an easy choice to send away. Mark might be right. He may fall off the cliff when he faces good mlb pitching. But he’s been impressive so far.
I can smell a trade coming. I’m not sure who goes or who comes. But it feels like something could happen before the season starts. Joe Ryan’s name keeps floating around. I’ve heard the Dodgers have had interest before. You never know.
Mark DeRosa got a mulligan! He said he knew all along he needed to beat Italy. Sure didn’t look like he knew! Speaking of Ryan , word is he might be added to the USA roster since Skubal isn’t available. Hope they win it all and we can get down to the regular season!! It’s time to defend the title!
March madness!! Love it! GO HOOS!
I saw Sandy pitch several times. The best thing I can say about Koufax is that if I needed one win, he would be my starting pitcher every time. Something special was going to happen every time he took the mound. He is still the only Dodger pitcher to strike out 18 batters in a game, and he did it twice. US won 5-3 tonight and will face Machado and the Dominican team on Sunday. Skenes is scheduled to pitch. But Canada scared the hell out of them tonight. Tucker, Tibbs III and Teo went deep in LA’s 10-7 win over Seattle tonight. Freeland pretty much earned a trip to OKC with another ofer.
9:10 PM ET
Dodgers (93-69)
Mariners (90-72)
SP Landon Knack R
0-0 .00 ERA
SP Kade Anderson L
0-0 .00 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH Miguel Rojas R
RF Kyle Tucker L
LF T. Hernandez R
CF Alex Call R
3B S. Espinal R
SS A. Freeland S
2B Nick Senzel R
1B James Tibbs L
C E. Alfonzo S
89° Wind 3 mph Out
Using nothing more than the eyeball test Sandy was the best I’ve ever seen but I was only 10 when he last pitched and probably see the world differently now. Like Mays is the best player I’ve ever seen.
Certainly Gibson was tough. so was Drysdale. I always thought Seaver was better. Maddox was a genius. Johnson the scariest/most overpowering maybe.
It’s difficult to compare eras. But the way they baby pitchers now, I don’t think they hold a candle to the warriors who threw 300 innings. There were 24 300 inning seasons between 1970-1980 (Carlton was the last in 1980). Logan Webb led MLB with 207 IP last year. Logan Gilbert had 208 in 2024. Logan Webb had 216 in 2023. (what’s with all the Logans?)
In 2010 Roy Halladay had 250. In 2000 Roy Lieber had 251. Dave Stewart had 267 in 1990.
So we know that the high was 307 in 1980 (Carlton), 267 in 1990, 251 in 2000 and about the same in 2010.
The big drop was in 2017, when Chris Sale pitched 217 after David Price pitched 230 in 2016.
Look at active leaders in IP – it’s 43 year old Justin Verlander with 3567. After 20 seasons. Good for 66th on the all time list. Next among active pitchers is Max Scherzer with 2963, after 20 seasons, good for 146th. Other than those 2 Hall of Famers? Chris Sale with 2084 innings in 17 seasons, good for 407th.
One of the things that made the likes of Koufax, Johnson, and Gibson valuable was that they pitched! Deep into games and often. there are only 3 other active pitchers in the top 500 in career innings pitched – Sonny Gray, Gerrit Cole, and Patrick Corbin. Compared to every other decade, that is pretty limited.
Dodgers were not on TV much when Koufax pitched so we remember him mostly through Vin Scully’s descriptions on radio. So, maybe he was only a 10.
I’ve always said that Sandy was the GOAT and I watched or listened to pretty much all of his games. At a charity dinner Q&A I asked Tom Seaver who the GOAT was and he said it was clearly Sandy. Seaver was clocked at 98 MPH and he said Koufax (who he pitched against in spring training) was much faster.
Who is John Galt?
Howard Roark laughed.
Ayn Rand laughed last.
“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me”.
Here’s a teaser from my new website and the book, The Mountain Mover: (Coming soon)
Looks cool. I like the mustard seed story.
Remaining WBC Schedule (All times ET)
Date Round Matchup Time TV Location
Sat, March 14 Quarterfinal Puerto Rico vs. Italy 3:00 PM FS1 Houston, TX
Sat, March 14 Quarterfinal Venezuela vs. Japan 9:00 PM FOX Miami, FL
Sun, March 15 Semifinal 1 Dominican Rep. vs. USA 8:00 PM FS1 Miami, FL
Mon, March 16 Semifinal 2 QF 3 Winner vs. QF 4 Winner 8:00 PM FS1 Miami, FL
Tue, March 17 Final SF 1 Winner vs. SF 2 Winner 8:00 PM FOX Miami, FL
Recent Results
Quarterfinal 1: Dominican Republic 10, South Korea 0 (7 innings).
Quarterfinal 2: United States 5, Canada 3.
Tomorrow Sunday there are two Dodger split squad games at 4PM ET and after that major cuts will be made to Opening Day roster.
Shohei Ohtani continues pitching build-up in Miami
‘Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani won’t pitch during the World Baseball classic, but continued his build-up on Thursday in Miami, pitching four simulated innings to his Japanese teammates, getting him closer to ready for the opening day rotation”.